Tags:

"Not everybody can do this job," says Hadeel Naser about her mental health work with International Medical Corps in Azraq Camp, a refugee camp in Jordan for displaced Syrians. "What makes us different?" she asks. "We work with the soul."

As a global first responder for over 30 years, International Medical Corps' medical professionals know a ton about the human body: how to perform lifesaving operations, treat chronic illnesses, address and prevent infectious diseases, and bring children back from the brink of starvation. But matters of the mind and heart can be more mysterious.

"When you work with clients who have mental illness, you deal with their souls: the most sensitive, delicate part of our bodies. You touch their pain closely," says Hadeel.

Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Hadeel grew up in Jordan, where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in occupational therapy.

Hadeel uses her degree, along with the training she obtained in mental health case management, as a Mental Health Programme Officer working with Syrian refugees.

But a university degree is not enough, Hadeel makes sure to remind me. And as she describes what it takes to do her job well, I begin to see it as an art form – this searching for the remedy of a soul.

I learn that, as a mental health practitioner, you offer clients unconditional emotional support and ongoing comfort. You remain painstakingly patient and you follow up relentlessly.

You take people as they are, wherever they are, no matter their circumstances, customs or beliefs. Knowing that one word can make or break someone's spirit, you choose your words carefully and wisely. You understand that progress can be incredibly subtle, and relapses can be violent. So, you remind your clients, over and over, how brave they are for fighting to recover. To me, this sounds like love.

You understand that progress can be incredibly subtle, and relapses can be violent. So, you remind your clients, over and over, how brave they are for fighting to recover. To me, this sounds like love

The work is also fundamentally holistic and wildly specific. As an International Medical Corps mental health worker, you learn to do a comprehensive mental health assessment for each client, Hadeel explains.

This means discovering exactly your client's unique needs by journeying through the full spectrum of their being: their hobbies, interests, beliefs, family situations, early childhood experiences, and on and on. All of it is connected and it connects all of us – this recognition that pain and trauma afflicts everyone and how potent a medicine compassion can be.

Very few humanitarian relief organisations prioritise mental health and psychosocial support in the way that International Medical Corps does.

Yet in a place like Azraq Camp, full of refugees escaping violence who live in uncertain circumstances while processing their harrowing losses, tending to emotional health can be critical to survival.

Low-income countries have an average of one psychiatrist for every two million people. Across the globe, International Medical Corps takes a leadership role in mental health by contributing to and working in line with national and global guidelines for improving mental health and well-being among displaced and crisis-affected populations.

Such communities have multiple and complex needs and require a comprehensive mental health and case management approach, which helps identify, support and protect those who are vulnerable while promoting stability and recovery.

By building human resource capacity for mental health service provision among general health care staff, along with more specialised providers like psychologists, social workers and psychiatrists, International Medical Corps strengthens national health systems.

The organisation also increases the availability of accessible, non-stigmatising, culturally acceptable and high-quality mental health services by integrating services at the community level and bringing care directly to those who need it the most.

In Jordan, girls are often forbidden from accessing mental health services because their families believe this will affect their marriage prospects

To reach those most in need, Hadeel drives two hours each way to reach Azraq Refugee Camp from her home in Amman.

I can hear the fatigue in her voice as she talks to me after a long day. Her work can be physically and emotionally draining, but she says her team members step in to help one another as needed. Her family, too, remains a bastion of support. Even when she comes home exhausted, Hadeel's parents encourage her to keep helping others.

For Hadeel, helping also means fighting the widespread stigma associated with mental health. She says that in Jordan, girls are often forbidden from accessing mental health services because their families believe this will affect their marriage prospects.

Hadeel feels strongly that if she can help de-stigmatise the work of her and her colleagues, more people, especially girls, will be able to access the mental health care they need. And as she states with conviction through her exhaustion how she plans to devote her life to this cause, I recognise it in her voice: the kind of passion and determination that only comes from a labour of love.

This World Mental Health Day (October 10), we honour frontline health workers like Hadeel who tirelessly dedicate their lives to helping heal invisible scars across the globe.

Sonia Lowman is the Senior Communications Specialist at International Medical Corps.

About International Medical Corps' Jordan Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Programme:

As a part of the STRENGTHS global project to implement and test the effectiveness of a scalable psychological intervention, Hadeel has been trained in the World Health Organisation's Problem Management Plus.

Learn more about International Medical Corps' Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) work within complex emergencies here.

We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and other customized activities. By clicking “Submit”, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy policy.

X

Sign up to get this in your inbox every week

Tick here to also receive our weekly highlights newsletter!

We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and other customized activities. By clicking “Submit”, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy policy.

X

Want to keep up to date with

the latest news from the Middle East?

Subscribe to our newsletter today!

Iraq Report

Egypt Report

We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and other customized activities. By clicking “Submit”, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy policy.

We use our own cookies and third-party cookies to measure traffic to our website and analyse browsers' behaviour, with a view to improving the services we offerIf you continue browsing, we consider that you accept the use of cookies. View our privacy policy

We use our own cookies and third-party cookies to measure traffic to our website and analyse browsers' behaviour, with a view to improving the services we offerIf you continue browsing, we consider that you accept the use of cookies. View our privacy policy